To Heal or Not to Heal
by Suroun
Summary: When Malachite Un-fuses, Lapis has to make a difficult decision.
1. Chapter 1

Steven and Connie were screamed as they backed away from the terror inching its way toward them. It suddenly retreated, and they saw their chance and took it. They darted forward, ready to attack before it leaped at them again. It was too late. The waves lapping the shore caught up to them, soaking the hem of Steven's jeans and of Connie's long white sundress. Connie tripped over the flowery fabric and backed into the young teenager's arms. "Thanks Steven." Connie giggled. He felt his heart leap at the sight of her smile. She was so beautiful. The pearly white grin shone bright against the dark face.

"No problem", he said with a shy smile of his own. He looked into her eyes for a moment and then he did something even he didn't expect. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. He drew back and looked at his friend. She looked surprised, but happy. They hugged each other for a long moment and rested their heads against each other's foreheads. This was wonderful. Suddenly Steven began to glow and when he fazed back into view he had grown about a foot.

"Steven! What are you doing? You don't need to stretch yourself out like that again!" Connie scolded him, but this time he hadn't meant to do it. "I'm not shapeshifting" Steven explained in an older, more mature voice. "I guess I just really did have a magical growth spurt!"

Steven and Connie strode hand in hand to sit on the dry, powdery, part of the beach. "So, um… why do you think you grew all of a sudden?" Connie asked enthusiastically. She was happy for him, but she was still a tad concerned.

"I well… I don't know" Steven said awkwardly, suddenly very interested in the texture of the sand he was running through his fingers. "I guess I was just thinking about you… and I… and I was just about to ask if you might want to… I mean would you like to be…

"Hey kiddos!" Jamie waved at them, oblivious that he was interrupting anything important. Steven sighed and walked over to greet him. He loved it when Jamie came to deliver the mail and they could catch up on things, but he could not have come at a worse moment.

"Woah, Steven! I must have been gone for a really long time! You've grown like two feet!" he said, genuinely shocked. He put a hand on the smaller boy's head to measure his height against his own. Steven almost came up to his chin. He stood up as straight as he could, proud of his new appearance. "But dude, seriously. You need to get some new clothes" he laughed, pointing at Steven's exposed gem. Steven looked down at his too-small outfit. Jamie was right. His blue jeans were giving him a real wedgie, come to think of it. "Anyway, here's your mail" he said, dropping a massive stack of envelopes in his arms. "Oh, and this is for you too!" Jamie said with excitement, holding out a separate sheet of paper.

"Wait, Hold on a sec. I can't see." Steven said, fumbling with the precarious stack of mail. He placed it on a nearby boulder that was sitting o few yards from the mailbox. He took the piece of paper from Jamie's hands.

"It's a flyer for _Hamlet_. I thought you might want to come and try out since you did so well in the last play. I had a lot of fun working with you. Mayor Dewey's play was alright, but I've always been partial to the Shakespearian classics." Jamie gushed, with a goofy dramatic pose. Steven just stared blankly. As he didn't have any formal education, he had no idea who Shakespeare was. He felt a little self-conscious as Jamie and Connie discussed the playwright's works. Connie told Steven she would have to get a copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ so that they could read it together. Steven agreed to check out the play later and try out for a part. He'd loved it the last time he'd been in a play with Jamie, and he really wanted to learn more about this stuff so he could talk about it with Connie. He loved the way her eyes lit up when she talked about the things she'd read or learned in school, and he wanted to understand. He didn't like to admit it, but she made him feel rather unintelligent at times.

 **Just The First Chapter. More Coming Soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

Steven walked back from the audition with script in hand and wondered what in the world he had gotten himself into. Aside from him and Jamie, only Kiki and Buck had shown up for auditions, so they all got parts, but Steven didn't understand what was going on in the story. He made a mental note to ask Pearl when everyone got settled back at the temple. In the meantime, he needed to meet up with Garnet and Peridot to go looking for Malachite.

Pearl and Amethyst had decided to pass up on the search because Garnet told them the chances of finding the fusion were very slim, but Steven and Garnet went out to look every week anyway because they loved spending the time together. Peridot had begun to warm up to Garnet as well, and wanted to take her mind off of things by coming along. She was a Crystal Gem now, and she couldn't return to Homeworld. She would just have to accept her new life with the "clods", as she still occasionally referred to them, although it was with a touch of affection in her tone now.

Steven rounded the corner to the beach and Garnet waved him over to where she was buckling Peridot's life jacket. The tiny gem looked a bit embarrassed at having to wear one of Steven's, because she could not simply phase one on as the other gems could.

"Hello Steven, are you ready to head out?" Garnet asked, tossing him his other life jacket.

"Yeah, I can't wait. I really hope we find her this time! I miss Lapis a lot, and maybe I could make friends with Jasper too!" Garnet said nothing, casting him a sad smile. Steven knew that wasn't likely at all, but he wasn't going to give up on Jasper just yet.

"Alright, Peridot, why don't you go ahead and get in the raft" Garnet said, patting the little lima bean on the back. Steven smiled when he noticed that Peridot no longer flinched at the larger gem's touch. Peridot scurried over toward the raft and then tripped over something in the sand.

"What the?" Peridot dug up the small golden object to find that it was Jasper's gem destabilizer. Peridot looked squeamishly at it for a moment before meekly handing it up to Garnet. A chill ran down Garnet's back as she remembered the searing pain shooting through her body and forcing it to break apart. Fury at Jasper boiled up in her chest and she chucked it as far as she could into the ocean.

Garnet paused for a moment and tried to recompose herself. "Well," she said with a false calm voice, "let's get going then." Steven climbed into the raft and then Garnet followed, pushing off from the shore line. They searched for several hours without any luck and Steven decided to bring up the subject of the play. He told Garnet the play was called Hamlet but he didn't really understand what was going on even though he'd read the script twice already. Peridot, who had grown rather tired at this point, seemed to perk up at this.

"Hamlet? I've read that!" Peridot exclaimed. Steven and Garnet just stared blankly at her. I found it in Amethyst's room?" The pair looked even more confused. Amethyst didn't like reading, did she? "She said it was one of Steven's school thingies that Pearl got for him." That made sense. After Pearl gave Steven Lapis' mirror, she kept complaining about the mess of school supplies being left in the living room, so Amethyst shoved it all in her room to get Pearl to stop nagging. A copy of Hamlet must have been in the stack of books. Peridot explained the lengthy tale of violence, revenge, and political drama with great excitement. Steven began to like the story less and less. His eyes began to water a bit when "the hero" inadvertently killed his friends while trying to get revenge upon his uncle Claudius and avenge his father.

"That's enough, Peridot." Garnet said, noticing that it was upsetting Steven.

"Why? The end is great! Hamlet and his family dies, but he gets his revenge! It's so tragic, but he was so brave for never giving up and…"

"Peridot, I said that's enough!" Garnet growled. Peridot stopped talking immediately and looked away from her. It was silent for a moment and Steven tried to break the awkward tension. He never wanted them to get upset with each other. Garnet and Peridot had come so far and Peridot was clearly upset that Garnet had snapped at her.

"Hey, Peridot. It's okay. "I just don't think revenge is the right thing to do. Even if someone is awful like Claudius, I would hope someone would want to give him a second chance."

"I don't know Steven. I don't really blame Hamlet for trying to avenge his dad. Who knows what else his uncle might have done otherwise! He had no way of anticipating all the pain to innocent people he would cause! Revenge made everything worse, but that's because it was just a book right? I don't think Claudius deserved a second chance."

"Maybe not" Garnet observed, "But it's great when someone gets one anyway." Peridot fell silent and looked down at her folded legs.

"Maybe you both have a point."

Later that night after everyone washed off and Steven had gotten in his pajamas, He and Peridot sat on the edge of his bed and watched a few episodes of crying breakfast friends. "Can't we watch Camp Pining Hearts?" she whined.

"Not tonight" Garnet replied, walking up the steps. "It's time you went to bed, Steven" she said, giving him big hug. "Peridot, you can watch TV in the barn's loft if you wish, but I want to talk to you first." Peridot gulped. Garnet wasn't still mad, was she? "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. I should have tried to understand where you were coming from. You've been making a real effort to see things from our perspective, and I should have given you that same patience." Peridot looked up at her in shock. Complements from Garnet were rare and apologies even rarer. Peridot smiled sheepishly and gave her a tight squeeze around the middle before running off to the barn. Garnet looked pleasantly surprised as she wished Steven goodnight and turned the lights off.

 **Hey, thanks for reading, and sorry It's been so long. Next Chapter coming up soon. Malachite will be unfusing shortly.**


	3. Chapter 3

Steven couldn't breathe. He was underwater. He was drowning. Suddenly he was standing on the ocean's surface, and somehow still underwater. Jasper! Weakened and exhausted, she grabbed a small golden object from the darker water below. She grinned wickedly, and with the last of her strength, she grasped the chains that bound her and heaved Lapis Lazuli up to the inky surface.

"You! I'll shatter you for this! I'll destroy you!" The roaring, tiger-like gem growled as she used the chains to pull Lapis into herself. Jasper pulled out the gem destabilizer.

"NO! PLEASE, I…" Jasper plunged the weapon as hard as he could into Lapis' back, right where her gem was. Yellow lines crisscrossed Lapis' form as the inky water snaked up both of the gems' legs.

"Lapis!" Steven shouted as the water surrounded them and then dispersed, leaving Malachite in their place.

"AAAAAAGGGGHHH!" Malachite cried out in pain as Steven's view began to draw back. The island! They were near the island where he had been stranded with Lars and Sadie!

Steven sat bolt upright in his bed. "Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot!" I know where they are! Pearl ran into the room first, followed by Garnet and Amethyst.

"What's wrong? Steven, why are you screaming!?"

"It's Lapis and Jasper! They're at the island with all the geodes! I think they just got shattered! They…"

"Steven, it's okay, you just had a bad dream, alright?"

"No, he's right! We need to head out as quickly as possible" Garnet insisted, adjusting her shades. "I saw them. They're there, but they aren't in good shape. Steven, go get Peridot! Then warp yourselves to the island!" Steven got dressed as quickly as he could as the gems warped away and then he took off toward the barn as fast as his little legs could carry him.

When he and Peridot arrived on the island, only Pearl was there to greet them. "What's going on, Pearl?"

"Their gems are cracked, really badly, and Jasper is poofed. They'll shatter if we don't help them soon." The two young gems gasped. "Fortunately, you're mother's fountain is on this island. Garnet and Amethyst are bringing them now, they sent me to get you. Come on, let's go."

By the time they got to the fountain, Lapis was healed and was sitting on the fountain's edge. Garnet was holding the little blue gem, who was sobbing with relief. She was finally free.

"Lapis!" Steven called out to her and ran into her arms. Lapis held Steven tight. Why had she done all this for him? Steven didn't know, but he was so relieved to see her safe and sound.

"You're an incredibly strong gem, Lapis" Garnet told her. "I've never known a gem who could withstand a gem stabilizer attack without poofing, much less right to the gem."

"Yeah, you're, like, indestructible!" Amethyst exclaimed.

Lapis wiped the tears from her eyes and Garnet looked at her sadly, holding her shoulders comfortingly. "There's only one last thing to do, and no one can force you into this, Lapis. We wouldn't dream of making you do it, especially after all you've been through, but it's the only way to save her." Garnet nodded her head toward Japer's gem, which was resting on top of the flower in the lap of Rose's statue.

"I'm not so cruel that I want her to die, but I can't fuse with her again." Lapis insisted.

"What do you mean Lapis? What's going on?" Steven asked nervously. He looked from Lapis to Garnet, hoping for an answer.

"Steven, when a gem is damaged, it can't be healed while the person is poofed. If so, they'll just be trapped in their gem forever and they can't reform while their gem is cracked. Lapis is the only exception I've ever known. If a gem is poofed and has a cracked gem, it's almost certainly either a death sentence, or they'll be trapped for eternity." Garnet explained. "The only way to save Jasper now is if she is part of a fusion"

"Why can't one of you do it then?" Steven asked.

"The fusion would have to have the power to reform while a component gem is cracked. Only Lapis can contribute that, because she's the only one of us with such an ability.

Steven's face fell. He wanted to save Jasper, but he couldn't ask Lapis to do that. She'd been a prisoner for far too long to ask her to go back.

"Can I have a minute with Steven and Peridot?" Lapis asked. She knows Jasper better than I do, in a friendly sense, I mean."

"Of course" Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst replied together. They left the three gems sitting at the water's edge. Lapis would have to choose soon. The cracks in Jasper's gem were growing larger by the second.

"What should I do, Steven?" Lapis sighed.

"I can't tell you what to do" Steven cried, hugging Lapis tightly. "I just don't want to lose you again!"

"Peridot, you knew Jasper as a friend, rather than an enemy. Do you think she can change if I save her now?"

"I don't know." Peridot looked at her feet. "Ya know, there's this story I read where this one character is really evil and the good guy tries to kill him. I thought that made him a hero, but he ended up hurting more people than the bad guy because he wanted to hurt the bad guy. I know this is different, because you aren't trying to kill Jasper, but he'll die anyway without your help. But Steven told me he would have spared him despite all the inherent risks because he wants everyone to have a second chance. And he did that for me, so I hope you'll do it for her. Peridot looked up at Lapis hopefully.

Lapis took Jasper's gem in her hands. She sighed deeply. She looked at Steven and then back at the water with a look of determination. "You helped me when I almost killed you and your friends. I don't know why you would do that for me, but I know she matters to you, just like Peridot and I. I could never do this for her, but I'll do it for you, Steven. She waded in the pool and told the two younger gems to leave and get the others. When Malachite reformed, it would take all of them to stop the monster if Jasper took over the fusion. Steven, however, watched at the door as Lapis was engulfed in light and the Lapis Lazuli and Jasper gems sank into the water, and Malachite emerged….

 **Hope you enjoyed it. Looking forward to the new episodes. Probably won't go down in any way resembling this but I tried to stick to what I knew for sure from cannon and the leaks up to this point, and just played with some ideas.**


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